Melins on the Move - Part 5

After our journey north, we returned to Boston. This time we started on the opposite end of the Freedom Trail.  We went to a top-notch museum by the USS Constitution.  I was amazed at how hands on they had made the exhibits.  The kids hoisted a goat onto the boat, swung in hammocks, furled sails, cooked in the galley, and pretended to by sailors.  We really could have spent all day there because after we did everything once the kids were ready to do it all again.  However, it was time to board the ship!  

Navigating the ship was tricky with carriers on our backs.  Each level lower also meant the ceiling got lower.  By the time we got to the lowest level we had to walk in a permanent squat position – talk about a quad workout!  

We knew we didn't have time to walk much of the Freedom Trail but we had one goal - climbing the Bunker Hill Monument.  That feat would require getting all nine of us 294 steps to the top after walking to the monument itself.  So, with plenty of water and snacks we started on our way.  About 50 steps up Juliet was done. Danny and I switched back and forth carrying her.  The big boys all made it themselves.  With a breathtaking view before him, Benaiah was more worried about how three pennies found there way outside the window way up that high.  Juliet did make the trip down on her own two feet.  Woohoo!  Sweet success!

Completing that climb was empowering for the boys.  Even when it was hard they kept going, but the trip back to the car seemed a little longer than the trip to the monument :)

The next day we started trekking southward again.  We knew it would be a long day in the car and wanted to break it up with fun stops.  The first bottom break was Plymouth Rock.  We were just in time to hear the ranger tell the whole story.  The boys were captivated because the ranger was a great storyteller.

The second stop was the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory.  We aren't really potato chip eaters, but who doesn't love a factory tour?  Free chips were a perfect addition to our picnic lunch too!

We took our lunch out on Cape Cod and then went for a swim.  We were shocked to see signs that said not to swim with seals because sharks were actively eating seals.  We were even more shocked to see seals as soon as our feet hit the sand.  No sharks, thankfully.  The babies loved the sand.  Theo liked eating it and Poppy made cute little trails from crawling.  We build many rock castles and the water was warm enough to really swim and play.

Next came the only unwise choice we made.  It was already late in the day and we needed to make sleeping arrangements for the night.  We knew there was an Air Force base in Trenton and we could get there a little before midnight. Well, we could if we were driving country roads in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately, we were driving on crowded northeastern roads with wrecks and construction.  We showed up a little before 2 in the morning with a sleeping crew.  If only my lack of sleep made them sleep in.  It is times like this you say, "Oh, well!  Make the best of it!"  So, I hopped in bed and prayed for miraculous multiplication of sleep.  Oh, and they only had two hotel rooms so I took the babies and Jules with me and Danny had the boys.  I got the short end of the stick . . . I mean I got the opportunity to enjoy every moment of the day - even before sunrise.  :) Lucky me.